| The first village president was Lee R. Lewis, and
meetings were held on Saturdays to accommodate the commuting members
of the board and community. The first meeting was held in the home
of trustee Helen Skelton. Another election - mandated by law - was
held in April 1957, and Robert Randall was elected the new president.
The board held fundraisers like dances to purchase such things
as stationery and record books. After his first year in office,
President Randall reflected on the successes: ordinances and zoning
laws had been passed, roads were being graded, snow removed, and
police were patrolling the village. Running water from a tower near
Fairfield Road and Hawthorne Drive arrived in the late 1950s. The
village population was now 1,000, and the village had its first
business, Thor’s Shell, at the intersection of Grand Avenue
and Lindenhurst Drive.
The first school was completed in September 1958. Built on land
from the Howard Bonner farm and redistricted from the Millburn school
district to Lake Villa District 41, the school was named B.J. Hooper
School after District 41 school board president and prominent Lake
Villa citizen B.J. Hooper. The Lindenhurst police force was all-volunteer
at first, buying their own uniforms and using their own cars; fundraisers
were held to pay for salaries and a patrol car. By 1960, the first
major commercial development in Lindenhurst was the building of
Linden Plaza, featuring Slove Bakery, Village Laundry, Linden Cleaners,
and Piggly Wiggly. Other businesses established in Lindenhurst included
Linden Texaco, Linden Barber Shop, Ben Franklin Variety Store, and
Stretch-A-Dollar Clothing Store. The Lindenhurst Civic Center, founded
as an outlet for teen fun, built its own facility in 1961 using
the remains of the original Lindenhurst Farm ice house to anchor
its building. It served as a meeting place for groups and organizations,
card parties, socials, polling place, wedding receptions and family
reunions. |
